Soldiers from the 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team recently conducted a critical live-fire exercise at McGregor Range Complex, New Mexico, showcasing the capabilities of the M-LIDS (Mobile-Low, Slow, Small-Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System). M-LIDS is a mobile counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) designed to detect, track, and neutralize drone threats encountered during deployments.
The annual Balikatan war games, conducted jointly between the Philippines and the United States, are set to witness a significant first in 2024. Colonel Michael Logico, executive agent of Balikatan 2024, confirmed the inclusion of the Spyder (Surface-to-air Python and Derby) air defense missile system in the upcoming exercises scheduled to take place in Central Luzon.
Project Convergence Capstone 4 (PC-C4), a U.S. Army-led experiment, is testing the interoperability of various Joint and Multinational Layered Air and Missile Defense systems. This iteration focuses on leveraging data from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and manned aircraft to guide the engagement of ground-based missile systems against airborne threats.
Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) announced a successful first flight test of the new Extended Range Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM-ER) variant, marking a significant milestone in its air defense missile development program. This innovative variant represents a first-of-its-kind configuration, incorporating several advanced technologies.
Recent media coverage frequently portrays air and missile defense intercepts through the lens of a simplistic cost comparison: the expensive interceptor versus the seemingly cheap missile or drone it destroys. While such headlines grab attention, Wes Rumbaugh, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, argues this approach paints an incomplete and potentially misleading picture. In a recent analysis, he delves deeper, urging a more nuanced understanding of the complex factors at play.